Sunday, November 9, 2014

A little
over two years ago, a burlesque fan boarded the light rail in her cosplay, prop
meteor hammer and camera in tow.I was
determined to check out the Quentin Tarantino-themed burlesque show in my Gogo Yubari costume.Little did I know that
it would play a huge part in getting me into the Dallas burlesque scene and set
me on the road to competing for a crown.

Villains and Villainesses
By Mr. Photopix
(www.mrphotopix.com)

When
Appaloosa Red announced that there would be a sequel to the Tarantino tribute,
Pulp Friction, I knew I had to submit an act.I chose O-Ren Ishii instead of Gogo because I'm not a fan of the Asian
school girl stereotype (even if Gogo is a subversion) and I wanted a challenge.I decided to play upon her mixed heritage
since I could relate.As an
American-born Taiwanese with Chinese ancestry and a love of Japanese culture
that people mistake for being my ethnicity, I wanted explore the layers of
identity and show that there's more than what meets the eye.To make the concept more O-Ren, I decided to
represent the cultural identities as personas she adopted for assassinations.It helped tie all the looks together because
regardless of what she's wearing, she's still a badass.

Of course,
this complex idea meant another complicated costume—or rather, three
costumes.To my great fortune, Black Mariah had an old kimono and I was able to use the ties from my yukata.I decided to get a real obi, which led to me
having to learn how to tie it and
figure out of it without being a tangled mess.Equally questionable was my choice to use a G-string that I happened to
have (yay lingerie sets).It saved me
from buying another costume piece, but I had my apprehensions about baring that
much.I reminded myself of the insecurities
I had already overcome and went into Pulp Friction with the "Go big or go
home" mindset that had gotten me this far.

Pulp Friction
By DV8Photo
(dv8photo.com)

I really
have to thank Appaloosa Red for having this high maintenance routine in her
show and the stage kittens for lending a hand.Despite a little mishap, I had a successful performance and probably the
best obi removal I could ever wish for.I
was happy to have been able to show a different side to Hana Li, and I was inspired by
all these different interpretations of Tarantino films and characters.

The PistolettesA Go-Go were in Pulp Fiction as the Crazy 88s, and they wound up talking me
into auditioning for the Texas Burlesque Peepshow's Villains and Villainesses
show, which was also a competition for Evil Queen of Burlesque.They had the idea of having me enter with
them like in the movie and then do my solo after their routine.I hadn't planned to audition due to a
friend's wedding being the same day.It
was an afternoon wedding so with some help, I worked out a schedule that
allowed me to do both if I was cast.It
sounded good in theory and The Pistolettes and I were selected.Then I had a week of the worst luck ever—
which included my bus to the Texas Theatre not showing up.

Villains and Villainesses,
with the Pistolettes A Go-Go
By Samuel Hsu

The
Companion, who already skipped some of the reception by waiting out in the cold
with me, came to the rescue.The
Pistolettes were also extremely helpful in getting me ready to go, especially Coco Dependent who worked magic on my wig.Things
seemed to be looking up, but the bad luck reared its ugly head again.There was a technical error (it's theatre; it happens), but we made it
work. And I really do mean we since the
stage kittens and The Pistolettes played big roles.This was a test of my capabilities as a dancer, which could use some
improvement yet I should not doubt.

Villains and Villainesses
By Mr. Photopix
www.mrphotopix.com

I hadn't
really thought much about the competition aspect until I saw photos of the
crown.Then the reality of being a
contender for Queen sunk in.In a way, all the unrelated stresses I had to
deal with kept me from becoming too competitive.Being among such talented dancers was enough
of an honor for me—a big congratulations to Blaze for becoming our first-ever
Evil Queen of Burlesque.I did my best with
what is only my second solo act, and even if I'm not Evil Queen, I still got to
be the Queen of the Crime Council.